By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Toledo, Ohio---The Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) has announced its postseason awards, and four Owens Community College men's basketball players have been recognized.

Derrik Jamerson Jr. (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) was named First Team All-OCCAC, while Marquevious Wilson (Lima Senior/Lima, Ohio) and Roy Hatchett Jr. (Glenville/Cleveland, Ohio) were named Honorable Mention All-OCCAC. Rico Stafford (Lima Senior/Lima, Ohio) earned a spot on the OCCAC's All-Defensive Team.

The Owens men's basketball team finished 23-9 overall this past season, including a 12-4 record in OCCAC play (3rd place). They defeated Clark State Community College in the Region XII District 11 quarterfinals before falling to Cuyahoga Community College in the semifinals. It was the program's fifth season with 20 plus wins over the past six years and the 29th such season in program history.

First-year head coach Dennis Springs, who took over the team on Dec. 17, led the team to a 16-5 record in his 21 games, including a 12-3 record in OCCAC play.

DERRIK JAMERSON JR.

Jamerson, who is signed with NCAA Division I Norfolk State University, also finished third in district player of the year voting behind Cincinnati State's Dante Battle and Sinclair's Akiean Frederick. 

The sophomore guard averaged 16.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks per game in conference play this year while shooting 47.1 percent from 3-point range and 52.5 percent from the field. He led the team in scoring, rebounding and blocks. Overall, he averaged 16.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per game over 32 contests and scored a career-high 40 points in a win over Hocking on Feb. 4.

Over 16 conference games, Jamerson scored double figures in all but two contests. He had 27 points against Columbus State on Feb. 18, 26 against Edison on Jan. 18, 25 against Lakeland on Jan. 25, 25 against Sinclair on Feb. 11 and 22 against Lorain County on Feb. 18. 

Jamerson produced four double-doubles in conference play and earned OCCAC player of the week recognition on Jan. 1 and Feb. 5. In conference play, he finished ninth in scoring, 12th in rebounds, fifth in steals and second on blocks.

On top of that, Jamerson finished his career 223-for-492 (45.3 percent) from 3-point range, including a 120-for-243 (49.4 percent) finish as a sophomore. In doing so, he finished 20 attempts shy of the program's single season record for attempts.

However, Jamerson broke the program's single game and career 3-point records for makes and attempts, as well as the single season 3-pointers made record. Additionally, his 49.4 percent finish this year broke Shaakir Lindsey's single season record of 46.6 percent from 2014-15. His 45.3 percent career finish was just 1.4 percent shy of breaking the career mark.

Jamerson scored 970 points in his two seasons, which was just 30 points shy of becoming the third 1,000-point scorer for Owens over the past five seasons. 

As a freshman, Jamerson earned Second Team All-OCCAC recognition. His first-team selection this year marks the sixth straight year a player from Owens has made the first-team – joining Xavier Cochran in 2015-16, John Murry in 2014-15, John Murry and Bikramjit Gill in 2014-15, James Kelly in 2012-13 and Justin Edmonds in 2011-12.

MARQUEVIOUS WILSON

Wilson, a freshman guard, averaged 13 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game in conference play. He started 13 of 16 games during a stretch that saw him score a season-high 23 points against Lorain County on Feb. 8 and 20 points against Sinclair on Feb. 11. He had two double-doubles in OCCAC play – against Lakeland on Feb. 22 and Lorain County on Feb. 8, and he finished second on the team in scoring behind Jamerson in OCCAC play.

Overall, Wilson averaged 10.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game for Owens this year over 32 games. He was named the OCCAC player of the week on Feb. 12.

In conference play, Wilson finished 19th in scoring and rebounding, as well as seventh in assists.

ROY HATCHETT JR.

Hatchett, a sophomore guard, led the OCCAC in assists as a sophomore. In 15 conference games, he finished fifth on the team in scoring with averages of 10.5 points, 8.1 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. Overall, he averaged 9.3 points, 8.2 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game over 30 contests.

Hatchett, who had 16 games with at least 10 points this year, also had 10 games with at least 10 assists. On top of that, he also had five games with nine assists and six double-doubles in points and assists, including three in OCCAC play.

Hatchett finished his sophomore campaign with 247 assists, which was 48 shy of breaking Otis "Chip" Smith's record of 294 from 1989-90. He also finished with 344 career assists and had five or more assists in all but two games as a sophomore.

RICO STAFFORD

Stafford, a freshman forward, who led the team in steals and finished third on the team in scoring and rebounding in conference play, averaged 12.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.1 steals, 1.3 assists and one block per game over 16 contests. Overall, he averaged 12.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, two steals and 0.8 blocks per game over 32 contests.

Stafford finished the season by shooting at least 50 percent from the field in 17 of his final 18 games, including 25 of the 32 games overall this year. He was 181-for-288 (62.8 percent) from the field as a freshman, which was the best on the team.

Stafford had 23 games with at least 10 points, including a season-high 25 points against Hocking on Feb. 4, as well as 20 against Lorain County on Feb. 8. In those two games, he shot a combined 22-for-31 (71 percent) from the field. He also had a season-high 13 rebounds on Nov. 18 against Kalamazoo Valley.

In conference play, Stafford finished 20th in scoring, 24th in rebounds, third in steals and seventh in blocks to earn his all-defensive team honor.

NOTES

Cincinnati State's Dante Battle was named the OCCAC Player of the Year. Cincinnati State's Desmond Crosby was named the OCCAC Defensive Player of the Year. Cuyahoga Community College's Devon Robinson was the OCCAC Freshman of the Year. Cuyahoga Community College's Michael Duncan was named the OCCAC Coach of the Year. 

Cincinnati State and Cuyahoga shared the OCCAC regular season title with Owens finishing third. Cincinnati State then defeated Cuyahoga in the Region XII District 11 championship to earn a bid to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.